Sayville, NY — Sayville Letter Carriers William Wagner and Edward McKenna have both been driving for the Postal Service for over three decades. In a ceremony attended by family, co-workers and postal leadership, they were inducted into the Million Mile Club on April 3 at the Sayville Post Office.

“Your safety is our top priority. I am so impressed with this accomplishment,” said New York 2 District Manager Dermot Tuohy, as he handed out the two National Safety Council Million Mile Award plaques.

Both letter carriers both work out of the facility on Greene Ave., which boasts a total of 14 individual carrier routes.

Each carrier has a route that delivers to over 400 address points a day. 

“I try to stay back. I let other drivers go first,” said McKenna. “I keep myself at a distance.”

“I hope it inspires everybody. Here are letter carriers that show us what can be done. All the hazards they encounter every day and have managed to avoid incidents over many years – it’s incredible,” said Tuohy.

“Thank you and keep up the good work,” he added.

BACKGROUND:

The Million Mile Award is awarded to letter carriers, rural carriers and truck drivers, who have a safe attitude that entails driving for one million miles or 30 years without a preventable incident. They receive a plaque which bears the Million Mile Club emblem, the NSC logo and an engraved personalized nameplate.

The Postal Service has one of the world’s largest civilian fleets with 246,503 vehicles.

These vehicles link the nation’s 31,000 plus Post Offices and are driven by more than 341,000 letter carriers and truck drivers. The Postal Service logs more than 1.2 billion miles annually delivering to America’s 148.6 million residences and 12.8 million businesses – 6 days a week. 

Driving a million miles safely is commendable. To add perspective, the moon is 238,900 miles from planet earth. Driving one million miles is the equivalent of doing that journey more than four times.

According to the National Safety Council, more than 30,000 Postal Service employees have achieved a distinction most people never approach in their lifetimes – driving more than a million accident-free miles.

Safe Driving Habits Start with Good Training

Driving for the Postal Service is a privilege. All drivers must demonstrate safe-driving practices throughout their careers. Behind-the-wheel job candidates undergo a rigorous screening, training, and certification process to earn credentials to operate a right-hand drive postal vehicle.

Information on the National Safety Council’s Safe Driver Program is located at www.nsc.org/usps. Questions can be directed to the National Safety Council Customer Relations at 1-800-621-7619 or uspsawards@nsc.org.

The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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